Tehran: An Iranian court has sentenced two French citizens to long prison terms for alleged espionage for Israel. The Mizan justice portal reported on Tuesday that the unnamed French nationals were sentenced to 17 and 20 years in prison. The defendants have 20 days to appeal.
According to Ghana News Agency, the two French nationals are most likely C©cile Kohler and Jacques Paris, who were arrested in 2022 while traveling through Iran. They are accused of spying for Israel's intelligence service and of having contact with Iranian trade union activists.
However, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that both are to be released as part of a prisoner exchange. In return, an Iranian scientist imprisoned in France for posting terrorist propaganda on social media is to be released.
Last week, a German-French cyclist detained in southern Iran was also released after being acquitted of espionage charges. Observers in Tehran therefore expect the two remaining French nationals to be released as well. They view the long prison sentences imposed on them as Iranian pressure to speed up the planned prisoner exchange.
